Flush valve assembly



Aug. 30, 1955 J. E. ROBINSON FLUSH VALVE ASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 29, 1955 Fig.

James E. Robinson INVENTOR. will.

BY Q4 and United States Patent FLUSH VALVE ASSSEMBLY James E. Robinson, La Follette, Tenn.

Application flctobez' 29, 1953, Serial No. 338,936

1 Claim. (Cl. 4-37) This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in flush valve assemblies for flush tanks of toilets, and the principal object of the invention is to provide a valve assembly of the character herein described which may be employed selectively to release a predetermined amount of water from the toilet tank in accordance with the requirements for flushing either liquid or solid material and which, therefore, may be effectively used to efiect a conservation of water such as is usually wasted when utilizing the same quantity of water for flushing both solid and liquid matter.

An important feature of the invention resides in its extreme simplicity of construction, in its efficient and dependable operation, and in its adaptability for use either in new toilet tanks as original equipment or as a replacement unit for toilet tanks already in existence.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational View of a toilet tank, partially broken away so as to reveal the invention therein;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the invention on an enlarged scale; and

Figure 3 is a top plan View of the flush valve assembly per se.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the general reference character designates a conventional toilet tank including the usual outlet port 12 and a flushing mechanism of a conventional design, the latter including an actuating handle 14, operatively connected to a link 16 which, in turn, is attached to a vertically slidable actuating stem 18 carried by a guide 20 attached to a standpipe 22.

The invention resides in the construction of the flush valve assembly which is designated generally by the reference character 24 and includes a hollow valve body 26 having its lower end portion engageable, in the manner of a closure, with the valve port 12.

The essence of novelty of the invention resides in forming the valve body 26 with a vertical, axial secondary valve passage 28 which is in constant communication with the valve port 12 and is formed at the upper end of the valve body with a seat 30 for a secondary valve element or valve body 32.

A wire cage 34 is secured to the top of the primary valve body 26, concentrically with the valve passage 28,

and the secondary valve body 32, which is disposed in the cage 34, is secured to the lower end of the aforementioned actuating rod 18. When the rod 18 is in its lower position, the secondary valve body 32 engages and closes the seat 30 of the secondary valve passage 28, but when the stem or rod 18 is drawn upwardly, the secondary valve body 32 engages the underside of the top of the cage 34, as indicated by the dotted lines 36 in Figure 2.

When the invention is in operation, the primary valve body 26 engages the outlet port 12 and the secondary valve body 32 engages the seat 30 of the secondary valve passage 28, so that water is normally prevented from escaping from the toilet tank.

When it is desired to flush liquid matter, the actuating handle 14 of the toilet tank is depressed to some extent,

whereby the rod or stem 18 is slid upwardly to a sufli-' cient degree so as to unseat the secondary valve body 32 from the seat 30 and thereby open the secondary valve passage 38. This action will permit a certain amount of water to escape from the toilet tank through the valve passage 28 and the outlet port 12, sufficient to flush liquid material.

On the other hand, when it is desired to flush solid material, the actuating handle 14 is depressed to the full extent, thereby not only unseating the secondary valve body 32, but causing the valve body 32 to engage the cage 34, as indicated at 36, and thereby lift the cage 34 and the associated valve body 26 out of engagement with the valve port 12, so that the entire contents of the toilet tank may be flushed in the conventional manner.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

In a toilet flush tank including an outlet port and conventional flush valve actuating means, a flush valve assembly comprising a primary valve body engageable with said outlet port to seat therein and provided with a secondary valve passage in constant communication with the outlet port, a secondary valve body engageable with said secondary valve passage to seat therein, a stem operatively connected to said actuating means and to said secondary valve body whereby the secondary valve body is unseated upwardly from said secondary valve passage prior to the unseating of the primary valve body from said outlet port, and a guiding cage for said secondary valve body rising from and fixed to said primary valve body and lifted by the secondary valve body when unseated to lift and unseat the primary valve body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

